The head of Debevoise & Plimpton’s investment management and funds group and the deputy chair of its corporate department have left the firm to join Kirkland & Ellis in New York.

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Erica Berthou

Erica Berthou, global head of the investment management and funds group at Debevoise & Plimpton, has left the firm with deputy corporate chair Jordan Murray to join Kirkland & Ellis as partners in New York.

A current Debevoise partner confirmed the departure of Berthou, who also served as a member of the firm’s management committee. In addition to her and Murray, a number of other Debevoise lawyers are expected to make the move to Kirkland. The New York Times’ DealBook first noted Kirkland’s hire of both Debevoise lawyers in its Friday morning briefing.

Neither Murray nor Berthou, both of whom made partner at Debevoise in July 2008, were available to discuss their departure from the firm. Debevoise, which had removed the biography pages of both lawyers from its website by midday Friday, said in a statement that it appreciated the contributions of Berthou and Murray and wished them well.

“Debevoise has long had a market leading funds practice driven by a large team of talented lawyers,” a firm spokesman said. “We are pleased that David Schwartz, a senior partner with broad experience helping our clients with virtually every aspect of private fund activity, will lead the practice in conjunction with other partners, including Rebecca Silberstein, co-chair of Debevoise’s private equity practice.”

Media representatives for Kirkland did not immediately return requests for comment about Berthou and Murray, who a source said would be released from Debevoise’s partnership as of close of business Friday.

Berthou derives much of her business from Europe. She was born in Sweden and began her legal career at a Stockholm-based law firm, where Debevoise recruited her in 2003 after the former competitive horseback rider worked on a deal with the Am Law 100 firm, as she told Crain’s New York Business in 2012. Despite having never been to New York, Berthou left Stockholm with her family and joined Debevoise. Within five years, she had made partner.

As for Debevoise, the departures of Berthou and Murray come a month after McDermott Will & Emery hired a three-lawyer team led by Lee Schneider, the former head of Debevoise’s broker-dealer and fintech practices. Debevoise also recently saw tax partner Vadim Mahmoudov leave its New York headquarters to become a principal at accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Debevoise has also been active in the lateral market. The firm started off 2017 by bringing back former litigation partners Mary Jo White and Andrew Ceresney from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency that White led until January of this year. Kara Brockmeyer, a former chief of the SEC’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit, joined Debevoise in May.

Brian Baxter

From big bankruptcies and large personalities to lateral moves and M&A deals, Brian Baxter is a reporter and editor based in New York covering the business of law in all its forms. Contact him at bbaxter@alm.com. You won’t find him on Twitter.

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